The present application relates generally to free-standing structures including fibers. More particularly, the application relates to methods of growing fibers.
Fibers and other free-standing structures may be used in a variety of applications. For example, conventional fibers may be used in the formation of larger structures such as braided ropes, threads and other textiles. Fibers may also be used in composite materials such as reinforced polymeric structures. Fibers have also been used in telecommunications devices. More recently, fiber production methods and systems have been adapted to aid in the assembly of micro scale electro mechanical devices (MEMS). Even some nano-scale electro mechanical devices (NEMS) provide applications for specialty fibers.
While many synthetic fibers may be manufactured in bulk by conventional processes, some specialty materials do not lend themselves to such production methods. For example, some fiber materials may be drawn from a reaction mixture. The resulting fiber material may then be cut or chopped to a desired length. Alternatively, a long piece of fiber material may be wound or spooled as a single fiber. Such techniques, however, are not useful for the preparation of fibers or assemblies of fibers comprising more brittle materials. Also, while some materials may be synthesized according to conventional techniques, the conditions under which the processing must be performed often limits the ability to produce fibers having desired properties or morphologies. Because of this, many potentially useful fiber materials have not yet been realized.
The geometry and surface properties of the produced fibers is also important. It is very difficult to manually (or even automatically) assemble MEMS or NEMS from fibers that are sufficiently small for these applications. While devices have been proposed for orienting, positioning, and assembling fibers in such devices, mass-production of large quantities of fiber-based MEMS/NEMS has proven impractical or costly.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method for the production of fibers and structures comprising fibers, utilizing specialized materials. It would also be desirable to provide a method for controlling the growth rate of an array of fibers such that the fibers may be formed into larger structures as the fibers are grown. These and other aspects, advantages, and features will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.